The New Orleans Pelicans are on the rise with young stars such as Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, so why would the team – now coached by Stan Van Gundy – want to trade one of the best-two-way guards in the NBA this offseason in Jrue Holiday?
Pelicans Looking To Trade Jrue Holiday | 2020 NBA Expert Analysis
The short answer is that Holiday is already 30 and is rather expensive, and the Pels are going to have to pay Ingram the max this offseason. Holiday also can become a free agent after next season and at his age, he doesn’t really jibe with New Orleans’ plans for contention in two years or so.
It has been reported that the Pelicans are actively shopping Holiday, and the NBA trade market should really start to heat up as soon as the owners and players agree on when the 2020-21 season will start, what the salary cap will be, etc.
Holiday was an All-Star in 2013 and is a two-time member of the NBA’s All-Defensive Team. He’s coming off another strong two-way season, averaging 19.1 points, 6.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks. Holiday is also a very good locker-room presence as he was named the NBA’s Teammate of the Year for last season.
The award, presented annually since the 2012-13 season, recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.
Essentially every contender in the NBA would love to get Holiday, but salaries have to come close to matching in any trades so that will be a major challenge for many clubs – on top of giving the Pelicans what they might want, which would be young players/draft picks.
This isn’t the first time Holiday’s name has popped up in trade talks as of late as the Brooklyn Nets and Pelicans reportedly discussed a trade involving Holiday prior to the trade deadline last season. The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat also pursued Holiday last season.
The Nuggets make a ton of sense as they need a third star to go with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. Of course, Denver lost in six games in the 2020 Western Conference Finals to the eventual champion Lakers. Any trade call with New Orleans is going to start by the Pelicans asking for Michael Porter Jr. and it seems unlikely that Denver would include their young star in any deal for Holiday. The player Denver could be more likely to part with is Bol Bol, who showed flashes in the bubble.
Brooklyn will have a healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving next season and could become Eastern Conference favorites by landing Holiday. One rumored trade is the Nets sending Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Dzanan Musa and a protected future first-round pick to New Orleans. The Pelicans likely would demand a package built around Caris LeVert. The 26-year-old posted career-highs of 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game last season. The swingman is four years younger than Holiday.
Start Of Next Season Decided Soon?
There could be a vote by the NBA Players’ Association as early as Thursday on when to start the 2020-21 regular season. The owners want to start it on Dec. 22, but many players prefer Jan. 18, which is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the USA. Teams that weren’t in the NBA bubble haven’t played since March and they are eager to go, but the Heat and Lakers only finished their seasons in the NBA Finals less than a month ago.
Starting in December instead of mid-January or later could generate a difference of roughly $500 million in revenue for the league. Revenue projections for the league this past season were missed by about $1.5 billion due to the pandemic. The NBA’s TV partners want games on Christmas as it’s the marquee day of the regular season.
The December start also would allow the NBA to finish the playoffs in mid-July before the Summer Olympics and for the league to get back on a normal schedule in the 2021-22 season.
If the two sides can agree to the Dec. 22 date, that would mean training camps would open Dec. 1, the season would be 72 games and there would be a play-in tournament for the No. 7-10 seeds in both conferences. It sounds as if the Dec. 22 date will be approved.
The defending champion Lakers are currently the +350 favorites to repeat next season on the Mybookie.ag NBA odds.
